


My Humanity

by ToraRyusei



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:52:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17868476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToraRyusei/pseuds/ToraRyusei





	My Humanity

 

He had arrived just barely on his feet. A wound unlike any other, doing something strange to his body. He wasn’t mending his wounds at that miraculous speed, he couldn’t feel that incredible strength coursing through his body...he couldn’t feel his aura, or that of any other.

No longer a Tiger, he was nothing more than an injured human. Something he had never been.

There was someone at home who could take care of him, the pink haired woman, Momo Chiwasaki, sat beside him and did all she could to help stitch up the gash in his stomach with the basic knowledge of medicine she held. It was pain like he’d never felt before, one not easily passing. He had struggled, he had gone through excruciating ordeals where the pain alone was enough to kill a normal person from shock, but never something so…mundane.

“It might take weeks for you to get better.” She said. The energetic Momo could become surprisingly serious when the situation called for it.

“From the injury…or from the curse?” He asked hesitantly.

“The wound. Whatever that arrow did to you is beyond me…I doubt even the Youkai Hunters expected their weapons to be used on a Tiger.” She stared at the nasty crimson and violet skin around the injury. It had been an exceptionally large arrow, one meant for hunting monsters. The arrow itself a weapon used to debilitate the spiritual powers of a youkai, rendering them weak and easily killed.

The same arrow which had killed the mother of one of Takii’s first loves, Hannah Gardenfelt. Had he not intervened, Hannah might have suffered the same fate as her mother.

“You…couldn’t you find a way where neither of you got hurt?”

Momo now stared up at her, judging her patient with the knowledge that he was all too eager to put himself between danger and a victim.

“Masochist.” Those words condemned him as a deviant stung him like the pain in his gut.

“I…It was the best way to secure her safety.” He explained, flustered.

“Yet you didn’t consider what might happen to you. You never do.”

She traced one of many pieces of evidence, a scar running down his exposed forearm. With his shirt removed to better examine the injury, one could see the multitude of scars that ran across his physique. Of course, there was no need to mention the one on the left side of his face.

“Maybe it’s time you change perspective a little…consider your safety a little more.” Her concern was evident in a half-lidded gaze, those eyes like dazzling amethysts were foggy with emotion.

“…Yeah. I think I learned my lesson…” The words came out painfully, as if there was something lodged in his throat. He’d been taught to be humanity’s protector, for that was why his body was so durable, capable of bouncing back from nearly anything. Even after nearly going blind in one eye…

…Come to think of it, that Evil Eye which had replaced his left one seemed especially blurry. If his aura manipulation and his superhuman strength had been sealed, of course that mythical eye would also be affected.

“I think I’m gonna have to use glasses for a while.” His cool voice made it sound as though it was minor, losing his vision. Momo quickly snapped to attention with a reflexive,

“Seriously? That’d be super hot.” Followed by a clearing of her throat and a more proper,

“We’ll have to go to the optometrist, and we can’t leave your stomach with just a makeshift stitch and some bandages. We’re gonna have to visit the hospital.” Those words he dreaded hearing the most.

“Ah…is it really necessary? Can’t you and Amagawa-san take care of everything?”

“I haven’t even completed my first year of medical school and you want me to take care of you? And no matter how impressive Amagawa-san may be as a maid, she’s not a licensed professional either!” She crossed her arms and gave Takii a harsh look.

“Egh…” There was nothing more he could say to that. Momo eased up a bit, speaking now in a softer tone.

“I’m sure it’s not permanent, but so long as your body can’t fix itself up like always, you’re going to have to accept living as a normal person…as a human.”

Then she added with a broad smile.

“One who managed to drag himself home after getting hurt so bad any other person might have died.” At least his intense will hadn’t faded, he thought.

“Now, just stay put while I go get you something to eat. Your organs are fine, so you should be able to digest it.” She lifted herself up from her seat at his bedside, leaving the room and leaving Takii to his thoughts.

Sitting up in his bed, letting a warm spring breeze travel through the open window to him, he was reminded of his mother. He remembered her like this too, looking out the window, without so much as the strength to walk normally, just like him now.

The fragility of his body settled on him. For the first time since his mother’s death, he felt truly and genuinely powerless. Sitting there on his bed, the throbbing pain of the wound on his stomach, he knew what it was like to be human.

The world was more than the hero could ever handle.


End file.
